


Deception

by KiriHuoZiv



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: AU, Fluffy, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-05-21 09:09:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6045958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiriHuoZiv/pseuds/KiriHuoZiv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A small collection of drabbles that tells about the relationship between Regina and Rumplestiltskin if they were father and daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A birthday gift to my friend, Tamy.

Rumplestiltskin watched the face of his daughter for the first time with fascination. She was sleeping heavily, sucking her thumb eagerly and looking nothing as majestic as her name suggested. Regina. There was no trace of his curse on her skin, she didn't look like she was Dark One's daughter.

Regina moved softly and, before Rumplestiltskin could disappear, was looking at him with her dark eyes, so different from his or her mother's. After a long and strong yawn, she raised her tiny arms as if asking him to hold her. With sadness, he backed away from her, restrain himself from holding her.

Not being able to have his daughter in his arms was a terrible fate, but his deal with Cora was clear: she would keep the baby as long as he didn't claim her. The terms were written with care and not even the Dark One was able to find a hole.

For Regina's sake, Rumplestiltskin would have to let her be raised by another man. Cora needed her daughter to marry a noble so she could socially ascend. That wasn't on their contract, of course, but Rumplestiltskin knew Cora enough to recognize that her true intentions.

The sorcerer thought about breaking off their deal, it wouldn't be the first time. But would he be able to take care of a little girl on his own? Rumplestiltskin had no expectations on Cora being a good mother, but Henry was a good man surrounded by good people. Regina would be happier with him.

When he didn't hold her after a some seconds, the baby started crying. He looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out what he'd do next; then, he conjured a small flask. With a flip of his wrist, the flask was filled by a transparent fluid: the girl's tears.

Why was he doing that? He didn't quite know. Tears have special properties, magical ones, but he didn't have any intention of using his daughter's. Ever. He couldn't use her for magical purposes, even if it's to find Baelfire.

Rumplestiltskin heard the footsteps getting closer and looked at her one more time. Regina didn't stop crying, her arms still pending on the air, calling him to fill his rightful place in her life.

No, he couldn't.

With one last look into the girl's eyes, the sorcerer disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Ten years after.


	2. Chapter 2

The second time Rumplestiltskin saw Regina happened ten years after her birth, almost by accident.

It was on prince Edward's castle during the celebration of the birth of his first male child. Edward was the second son of king Xavier and Cora's brother-in-law. No one besides the prince, his wife and  his older brother, the king, knew Rumplestiltskin was called to help the poor child, who was born barely alive.

The sorcerer was crossing the hallway towards the exit after one more successful deal when he found himself looking at one dark brown eye very similar to his own.

The small girl was half hidden behind a door, but he could see she was peeking through a rift. When their eyes crossed, Rumplestiltskin felt an instant connection as if he would always know those eyes no matter what.

He wasn't surprised when the little girl opened the door and looked up to him, it seemed _natural_ : she would _always_ open her arms and her doors to let him in.

One more of Fate's cruel jokes. The only person he dared loving and who dared not fearing him was the only one he couldn't speak with. Regina.

 "Who are you?" She asked, curious. Rumplestiltskin knew by a subtle movement of her hands that she wanted to touch his skin, probably curious about its strange color and texture.

How Rumplestiltskin wanted to let her! But he couldn't break his deal with Cora, not when the only option would be taking Regina from everything she knew and raising her by his own.

As tempting as it is right now, he knew he couldn't do this.

"Regina?" Called an angry voice from somewhere distant _enough_.

 _Cora_ , Rumplesiltskin recognized.

The little girl frowned and turned to the door for a moment before looking at him again., uncertain between her curiosity and the fear of her mother. He didn't know if Cora ever warned her about him or it was just her instincts emerging, but Regina seemed to know this meeting was forbidden.

"Regina! Where are you?" Regina tensed at the harshness of her mother's words. Would it be worthy?

She studies him one more time, finally reaching out to touch his hand. Rumplestiltskin didn't make any move to encourage or stop her, just waiting for her decision.

Their hands were mere inches from each other when Cora's angry steps became too close and, in a gesture of cowardice he would never be proud of, Rumplestiltskin disappeared in a purple cloud of smoke, leaving an astonished Regina behind.

If Cora had shown up in his castle, he would have said to her he had no way to know Regina and her would be there. A small lie as the sorcerer knew for sure that one of the traditions of this particular kingdom is that all the women from a family should be there to help and celebrate the new life, that included children.

But she never showed up, and Rumplestiltskin knew at that moment that the meeting was their little secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Fifteen years after this one.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Belle is 20, Regina is 25.

Belle didn’t know much about Rumplestiltskin, but she'd known there has been something deeply sad within the sorcerer since the moment she'd promised herself forever to him.

Of course, on those first terrified days, that hadn't had matter much while Belle'd been trying to find her own bravery. But he'd slowly started granting her access not only to the castle’s few attractions but to his own little secrets; from then, her fear had given in to her curiosity.

One day, a couple of months after she'd started working for him, Belle found herself cleaning his studio when she noticed a small painting of a little girl. There was something strangely familiar about her, as if Belle had seen her long ago but didn’t quite remember her. Something... something in her eyes... in her features...

“They don’t make fine servants anymore nowadays, do they?” Said someone just behind Belle, startling her. “Shouldn’t you be cleaning, _dearie_?”

The young brunette smiled in response, already used to Rumplestiltskin ruthness. _He feels really vulnerable right now, that's why he's being so rude,_ she realized right away, wondering when she'd become so sensitive about him; she had grown to know her master _too_ well during the past weeks.

She reached out with one of her hands to hold the back of his hand, using the other one to place the painting on the palm of Rumpelstiltskin’s hand. “She is pretty. Is she a sister... a daughter?” Due the similarity between the sorcerer and the girl, she doubted she was a lover.

The sorcerer took a long time to answer her, he opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally splitting it out with a note of threat in his voice: "Little maids shouldn't stick their noses into their master's affairs. They risk having them cut."

Then, he pulled away his hand and disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke before Belle thought of an answer.

**~~//~~**

A few months after the incident, Belle was still clueless about the young girl and, of course, the mystery only made her even more curious.

 _Is she his sister or his daughter? If she is his daughter, who is her mother? Maybe_ she _is his mother! Is she still alive? If so, does he still have any contact with him? What is her name?_ The questions kept popping in her mind every time she thought of the subject.

Then, one day, Belle finally got Rumplestiltskin to confess he'd had a son and to promise her a story if she came back from a visit to the town. The young maid knew it was a test, he wanted to see if she would come back and Belle had no intention of leaving for good. No, Rumplestiltskin was stuck with her! But she'd been locked up for a long time inside the castle, so she took the opportunity to get some fresh air and have a good walk. 

Belle was walking down the road when a carriage passed beside her and stopped; she quickly recognized the girl from the photo, even if she was probably a few years older than her at that point.

"Did my carriage splash you?" She asked, and for a moment the young maid couldn't answer. Then, she shook her head, happiness growing in her; _well, fate is in my favor right now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: 1 year after.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter was already getting to big to be considered a drabble, so I decided to extend the story for two more chapters.  
> Enjoy.

The little maid was _still_ bothering him about the woman she'd found at the road: Regina. _She is unhappy. Why don't you interfere?_ Of course she didn't understand and, obviously, he couldn't tell her the truth.

The truth that he was _afraid_ of screwing everything up; _afraid_ of his daughter's reaction when she finds out that he let her pass twenty-six years over the Cora's tyrany, and then let her get married to a moron of a king.

Instead, he told her about the contract. The fucking stupid contract he made with Cora, the one he knew that was just an excuse so he could ignore the reality that he was once again a father. Ignore that he once again had a child to disappoint, to make unhappy.

He didn't tell Belle he didn't _have_ to submit to the contract, it's not like he'd always fulfilled his part; but it is still a good _excuse_.

Then, around one year after Belle and Regina's meeting on the road, everything changed.

Rumplestiltkin was having his morning tea when he felt the pull of magic that usually meant _someone_ was calling him.

Usually, the sorcerer didn't interrupt his meals for a deal, especially now that the little maid was finally learning how to cook, but there was _something_ in that call. Of course, he couldn't exactly identify it — never could, one of his presumable side effects of being the Dark One —, but he was always sensitive about important deals, such as Cora's and Belle's.

Without saying a word, he rested his teacup on the table and disappeared surrounded by a cloud of purple smoke. He appeared again in a big room of a castle and, for a moment, felt _happy_ ; deals with kings or queens are usually _fun_. Then, he turned to look at the person who summoned him.

 _Regina_.

She looked rather uncomfortable, her cheeks a bit flushed; but also, there was fire within her eyes: she was furious. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and he was wondering _why_ would she call him _now_ , he'd been watching her from time to time and, as far as he knows, there is no reason for her to call him.

"So, _you_ are my real father," she said, after a moment, her breath coming hard and unsteady, as if she'd run many miles. _She's just angry_ , he knew.

"What are you _talking_ about, dearie?" Because he wouldn't, couldn't confess right away that she was right.

He was too scared.

"My mother's _diary_ ," as if to prove her point, she raised one hand to show him a small and old notebook. "She's become reckless about her things, her _little_ secrets, since I became queen and I could steal from her room a few days ago."

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed again when no sound pass through his lips. He'd seen this notebook before in Cora's hands, even though he didn't know until now that it was a diary.

"Aren't you going to explain why you've been absent, _father_?" She said the last word with scoff, and he froze in place.

What could he tell her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Regina's point of view and the continuation of this scene.


End file.
